DeSoto Sheriff Searches Swamps For Missing Man

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(Walls, MS) The search for a Memphis man who disappeared more than a month ago intensifies.

The Walls, MS police department stopped 55-year-old James Irby driving through their town with a small amount of marijuana. The officer says he tried to arrest Irby, even used a Taser om him, but he ran and hasn't been seen since.

However, the man's family doesn't believe that's what happened.

“I'll never believe that he kept on running from the condition that my brother was in. I'll never believe it,” said Viola Johnson, sister.

James Irby's family says he had cancer and gout, and could not have run the day he got stopped by Walls police. They don't believe the Walls Police Department is telling the truth.

Johnson said, “Y'all know what y'all done did to my brother. That's the reason why y'all been giving us all the round around. Y'all know exactly where. You just done killed him and took him off somewhere else.”

The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office brought out an all-terrain vehicle to see if they could find what happened to Irby.

Chris Olson, Dep. Dir. DeSoto Co. Emergency Services, said “What we were searching is on the edges of the wheat field off in the swamps.”

It’s the third different location they’ve searched and found no sign of him.

Ethel Allen said, “Lord Jesus, just tell us the truth where is he at. That's all I want to know. That's the only boy I got.”

DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco wants the family to have closure.

“We've been out here several times since this incident. I was out here the day that it occurred and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to get some closure for them,” said Rasco.

The Sheriff isn't commenting about the family's allegations. He says he can’t say what happened prior to his officers arriving on the scene. He directed us to the City of Walls for those answers.

We tried to talk to Walls Police Chief Gary Boisseau about what happened, but he dodged our cameras. His car was parked outside the police station. We even saw him inside but he's not answering our phone calls or the door. But that won't keep WREG from getting to the bottom of what happened.